My Son, My Only Son
by WanderingPirate
Summary: Deathly Hallows Spoilers. Lupin and Tonks during the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry visits Andromeda.


(A/N: It's just my feeling, that if you are going to kill off a character, at least give them a proper death scene. They shouldn't just suddenly be dead. J.K. Rowling had characters dropping left and right like flies in the Deathly Hallows.)

Disclaimer: Deathly Hallows would have gone much differently if I had been in charge. From this, you can probably assume that I don't have any say in what happens in the books.

**My Son, My Only Son**

Tonks stared into the fire, Remus' departure replaying inside her head. He had left, to go fight against Voldemort. Tears pricked at the sides of her eyes. He was walking straight into danger, upon hearing that Harry was there and that the D.A. were planning to take Hogwarts back from Snape, he hadn't even hesitated.

"_I'm sorry Dora, I'll be back as soon as I can, but I have to go, you understand, right?"_

She did understand, she understood too well why he had to go. She stood up and started pacing back and forth. It was horrible, waiting here, not knowing what was going on. And then she thought, why _was_ she waiting here? Surely she should be at the castle too, fighting by Remus' side? With a small jump, as if just realizing where she was, she started towards the door, she was going to defend Hogwarts with Remus…and then she heard a small muffled sigh come from a crib in the corner of the room. Teddy had rolled over in his sleep.

Tonks remembered why she hadn't gone now. So that she could take care of their son. Tonks felt a pang of guilt at the fact that she had almost forgotten him. Changing her direction, she now walked to the side of the crib instead. She watched that beautiful face sleep for a moment. She thought he looked like Remus, but Remus swore he looked like her. She held back her tears at the thought of Remus, who even now might be in trouble… one single tear escaped her desperate attempts to hold back a flood, and fell on to her sleeping son.

The wet drop startled little Teddy Lupin, and he jerked awake. For a minute, it looked like he might cry, but then his hair suddenly changed to the exact shade of pink as his mother's, and he giggled happily about it. She gave a teary smile down at her son, who was now trying to get his nose to look exactly like his mother's and failing. Of course, she would have to stay. She had to look after her son…but then something glinted in the firelight. She looked down and saw her wedding ring on her hand. Her husband…she had sworn to always be by his side. And she was leaving him to fight Death Eaters alone…what wife would do that?

"My husband…My son," she sobbed. She couldn't leave her son, but she was dying here, not knowing if her husband was safe or not. Why was she being forced to make this decision? It was too cruel…too cruel…

"Dora, dear?" a voice from the doorway said softly. Tonks turned to see her mother standing there. "Don't cry, I'm sure Remus is fine. He is a smart man, he can look after himself."

"But I have to know for sure," she said. "Take care of Teddy, I'm going to Hogwarts."

"But Dora!..." her mother began.

"No, I can't stand not knowing, I have to see him," Tonks said, and she strode out the door.

"Remus!" Tonks screamed. "Remus!"

Harry had said that Remus was out here, she just had to find him. Something that was a lot harder than it sounded, with the chaos that swarmed the grounds of Hogwarts surrounding her. It was impossible to tell who was winning, but there were bodies lying everywhere. Death Eater and Muggle-born, women and men, all of them finally the same in that last moment when death claimed them. She could not bare to think that Remus might be one of them, she wouldn't let herself think that.

"Remus!" she screamed again.

"Hello, my little niece," said a very unwelcome voice from behind her.

Tonks knew, even before she turned to see, that it was Bellatrix Lestrange.

"You think I wouldn't hunt you down?" Bellatrix asked in soft and dangerous voice. "After you disgraced my family by marrying that filthy half-breed?"

Tonks raised her wand. "Do not insult Remus Lupin. He's a better person than you could ever hope to be."

"Are you going to fight me, little niece?" Bellatrix sneered, a malicious smile spreading across her face. "Say good-bye, then."

Remus could swear he heard someone calling his name.

"Remus!"

Yes, there it was again. It sounded almost like Tonks…he felt a thrill of fear before reminding himself that Tonks was safe at home, with Teddy. She wouldn't come, would she? The fear was back again, because he knew that that was something his wonderful Dora would most certainly do. He fought his way through the crowd trying to find the place where he thought the shout had come from.

"Dora!" he yelled.

He deflected a jinx that had come flying at him. Whether it was from friend or foe, it was impossible to tell.

"Dora!" he yelled again, still elbowing people out of his way.

And then he saw it, Dora, his beautiful young wife that he loved with all his heart, battling someone. He could not see who it was, but it didn't matter, because the next second, there was a flash of green light and he watched her fall, almost as if she was in slow motion.

"Dora!" he screamed, but she could no longer answer him. Her blank eyes stared up into the starry night sky.

The battle around him seemed to stop, it didn't matter anymore. None of it mattered. She was gone. He stumbled to her body, and sobbing held it close to him.

"Dora, Dora…my brilliant Dora," he choked. It couldn't be… It couldn't be. That beautiful smile, forever gone from her lips.

Remus then heard a maniacal laughter from close by. He looked up to see a woman, with long dark hair and heavily lidded eyes. Bellatrix Lestrange was still holding her wand from where it had been when she sent the Killing Curse at Tonks…and she was laughing.

Thoughts seemed to slowly be making it to Remus' head. Bellatrix Lestrange…the woman who tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom…Sirius' murderer…Dora's murderer. He didn't know from where he drew the strength, but he was suddenly on his feet, his wand pointed at the laughing woman. Bellatrix stopped laughing, but gave Remus a sickening smile.

"Well, you must be the werewolf everyone's talking about," she said it softly, and yet her words carried to him. "I hear were related now. You married my foolish niece. Congratulations." She gestured to the still body of Nymphadora Tonks. "You must be so happy."

Remus, unable to speak for his anger right now, threw a jinx at her instead. Her smile faded a little and she said, her eyes flashing danger, "I will kill you the same way I killed your silly wife, and my dear cousin."

Bellatrix noticed that Remus' face darkened when she mentioned Sirius and she started to taunt him. "Still not upset about my useless cousin's death, are you?" she asked.

Remus sent another jinx flying at her, but she easily deflected it. Then quite suddenly, Remus felt something hit is arm, and cause him instant pain. All of his attention had been focused on the woman in front of him, he had completely forgotten to be wary of his surroundings and had been hit from behind by a curse.

Remus and Bellatrix started to duel. Remus had no chance, and he knew it. The curse had hit his wand arm and he was terribly weakened. Bellatrix knew what she was doing, there was no point in denying it.

"I'll be seeing you soon, my sweet Dora," he muttered to himself. And then he remembered Teddy. "Oh, poor little Teddy. What will you do without your parents? I suppose Harry will look after you, if he makes it through this alright. I just hope that Teddy knows that his parents died trying to give him a better world."

Those were the last words Remus spoke before the jet of green light hit him, and he felt himself leave his body.

"Fools, all of them," Bellatrix spat. "Well, soon, not just in my family, but the whole world will be free of blood traitors and half-breeds."

Harry paced back and forth along outside the Transfiguration Room of Hogwarts. He had had a brief, fleeting feeling of triumph after he had defeated Voldemort, but it all came crashing back down. So many were dead. So many. And Lupin and Tonks… they had just gotten married. They had just had a baby, and now it seemed that little Teddy, just like Harry, would grow up without parents. Harry had a fleeting thought that, even though now Teddy would grow up without parents, it was almost less cruel, somehow, that they had both died. If only one of them had died, the other was sure to have been completely devastated.

Harry insisted on telling Andromeda of her daughter's death. It seemed only right to him, somehow. After all, he was Teddy's godfather. He wasn't sure if he wanted to raise a child, though. If anything ever were to happen to Lupin or Tonks, he felt it would be his duty to raise Teddy. But he didn't know the first thing about kids. He was only seventeen, afterall.

And yet, he was determined to do it. Teddy was his godson, and now he was without parents. It was so cruel, but it was the way it was. Harry would raise Teddy, and he would make sure that Teddy was as happy as he would have been with his parents.

"Harry?" asked Hermione from the room to his left. "Harry, the portkey is going to leave in a minute, you should get in here."

Harry walked into the room, and Hermione squeezed his shoulder in a reassuring sort of way.

"You are sure you want to so this, Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked him. "I can do it myself, if you've changed your mind."

"No, I'll do it," he said steadily.

"Alright then, off you go," she said as the portkey started to glow blue and Harry grabbed on to it.

Harry felt the all to familiar sensation of a hook in his navel, and after a moment or so, he fell heavily onto the living room floor of the Tonks' house. _Actually, it's only_ _one Tonks_ _now,_ he thought as he remembered that Ted Tonks had died not that long ago.

She had just lost her husband. How was he supposed to tell her that she had now lost her only child and son-in-law as well? Then Harry remembered, with much pain, what Sirius had said all those long years ago, "_Andromeda was my favorite cousin."_ So she would have been mourning Sirius' death as well.

Harry heard a stifled sob and looked to his left for the source of the noise. Andromeda stood there, her face covered in tear tracks, and disappointment clearly etched upon her face. Harry understood, she had been hoping he was Tonks.

"Mrs. Tonks?" he said tentatively. Now that he was here, he wasn't sure what to say. Saying something like, "Your sister, you know, the one that killed your cousin? Well, she killed your daughter and your son-in-law, and now she's dead as well," just seemed…less than tactful. "I'm sorry but…"

He was cut off as Andromeda went into a fresh burst of crying, she had already guessed what he was here to tell her.

"I'm very sorry," he continued again. "But Nymphadora was killed last night."

"And-and R-remus?" she sputtered.

"He was also killed," he said, bowing his head.

"Do they know who…?" began Andromeda, trailing off as if she didn't want to say the words.

"It was hard to find out, because there was quite a lot going on and not many people saw them, but we think that it was…well… Bellatrix Lestrange," he said, not knowing how she would take the news.

"And Bellatrix?" whispered Andromeda.

"She was killed, too. She was dueling with Ginny Weasley, and sent the Killing Curse at her. Ginny dodged it, but Mrs. Weasley didn't take too well to her daughter being attacked, and dueled with Bellatrix," said Harry.

"And…Narcissa?" asked Andromeda hesitantly.

"She and her husband and son are fine," said Harry, relieved to be able to give good news. "They switched back over from Voldemort's side, and now that he's gone, I think that they're on our side for good."

Andromeda nodded and said, "I was never really close to her…but it's nice to know she wasn't harmed."

There was a sudden small giggle from a crib in the corner of the room that Harry just noticed.

"Oh, you haven't met little Teddy, yet, have you?" she asked softly. Harry had the feeling that she was trying to change the subject so that she wouldn't cry in front of him anymore. He was partly glad for it, he had wanted to comfort her, but what was he to say to a woman that had just lost so much?

They both walked over to the crib, and Harry looked down at the happy baby. His hair was the exact shade of Tonks' but, having only a fluff of baby hair on his head, Teddy had not made his spiky like his mother's. Teddy peered curiously up at him for a minute, and then his face contorted. Harry thought for a minute that Teddy was going to cry, but instead, a moment later, Teddy's hair had changed to black and untidy hair, very much like Harry's. This caused Teddy to laugh again, and kick his feet in the air.

"He likes you," said Andromeda softly.

"What?" asked Harry.

"He only changes his hair to look like other people when he likes them. He seems to like you very much," she said, and then sighed. "He rarely ever cries, he's so happy, just like Dora…"

Harry throat seemed to stick as he tried to speak, and he was half tempted not to, but he had come here to say what he had to, "You know, Remus and…and Dora, they made me Teddy's godfather, and if anything were ever to happen to them…" He couldn't help but feel that he was echoing Sirius' words, that night that Harry had met him for the first time. He could only hope that he was around for Teddy much longer than Sirius was around for him.

"Harry, do you mean that you'd like to raise him?" she questioned.

"Well…he is my godson," said Harry.

"I don't think Remus and Dora meant to put that much pressure on you…I can raise him fine," she said.

"I would like to, though," he said. The more that he thought about it, the more he wanted for Teddy to have a happy home. One much happier than Harry had ever gotten after his parents died.

"You're young," said Andromeda. "You should live your life, and have kids when you are ready. It is not fair to thrust this responsibility on you."

"But…" he began. He wanted to fight more, to say that Teddy wouldn't be a burden and he would raise him and love him, but then Harry realized that Andromeda was only trying to make him see sense. He knew nothing about babies, and he didn't even have a house to raise him in. Harry had only just thought of that. He supposed it would be possible to raise him in Grimmauld Place, but that house didn't exactly scream 'happy family.' In fact, that house would probably scream much more insulting and degrading things to his godson. Not the greatest place to raise a kid. But Andromeda wanted to raise him. Andromeda, who was already a mother, and already had a warm, welcoming house. Andromeda, whose only family now was her grandson, was he going to take that away from her? "I'd like to be able to visit him often," he said finally.

"Anytime you like," Andromeda said softly.

All the while, Remus and Dora's son lay in his crib, happily gurgling away. He may not have his parents, but he certainly had people that loved him.


End file.
